


Smile

by Resa_Saso



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: M/M, taylor swift made me do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:59:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12612220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Resa_Saso/pseuds/Resa_Saso
Summary: Theta has been observing Koschei for a very long time.Koschei never even noticed.At least that's what he thought.And then he smiled.





	Smile

 

 With a sigh, Theta stared on the device, trying his hardest to concentrate. He wasn’t the best of students. Books were boring, theory dry and the Academy barely ever offered anything else besides those two.  
  
But today the task of at least acting like a good student seemed even more challenging than before.  
  
All he could see in his mind were green eyes, focussed and intense, a face always serious and concentrated, slender and skilful hands, drawing precise lines right next to Theta’s little scribblings.  
  
He didn’t know which dusty, old Time Lord back in his days had decided that working in groups of two would improve the work environment and bring better results for students and teachers, but he wanted to have a little talk with them and introduce them to Koschei.  
  
Beautiful, brilliant, remarkable Koschei, working on and on right next to him, so absolutely not aware of his effect on him – At least that was what Theta hoped.  
But he figured, even _if_ Koschei noticed, he wouldn’t as much as blink. It simply didn’t matter, not in his cosmos. In his cosmos, the only thing that mattered was the problem and how to solve it. And next to him, Theta was almost able to forget, he was actually kind of clever himself.   
  
‘So,’ Koschei finally asked and looked up. Theta couldn’t help but flinch, when he suddenly felt these piercing eyes completely focussed on him.  ‘Are you going to contribute anything to this _partner_ project?’  
  
‘Oh,’ Theta stammered. ‘Eh…’  
  
It wasn’t that he hadn’t been listening, oh, he had, and everything Koschei had said had just been pure brilliance, but he might have… missed the last two sentences and the actual problem.  
  
Koschei shook his head in disapproval.   
  
‘I am very glad to have been assigned with such a competent partner.’  
  
The way he said ‘partner’, Theta could listen to it all day. But he couldn’t help but feel a bit scolded by those sharp, judging eyes looking straight into his.  
‘I am competent!’ he finally brought out hastily. ‘I am absolutely competent. You’ll see, I prove you, I’m…. ehm… where’s the problem?’  
  
Koschei snorted. ‘There’s no problem anymore. I've already repaired it.’  
  
‘But…’  
  
He stared up to Koschei, then down again to the device they’ve been ordered to fix, then back up to Koschei.  
  
‘It’s been only like…. 20 minutes?’  
  
‘And you were entirely busy to stare at thin air, so I allowed myself to repair it on my own.’  
  
‘In twenty minutes?’ Theta repeated tonelessly. ‘Are you _sure_ it’s repaired?’  
  
With a roll of his eyes, Koschei turned a switch at the side of the device and an impressive, huge hologram appeared around them, a dark but illuminated night sky, filled with planets and stars hanging and wrapping around them, filling the room, throwing sparkles at the ceiling.  
  
Their professor stood in the middle of the room, clapping with grace.   
  
‘Astonishing!’ he remarked. ‘Absolutely astonishing. And in no time! You two, would you please explain to the class how you managed this?’  
  
‘Oh, Theta will,’ Koschei proposed swiftly.   
  
‘What?’  
  
‘He’s been waiting for his chance to prove just how competent he is.’  
  
It was crazy.  
  
Theta had always been some kind of an outcast. He did his work alone, he spent his free time alone, he barely even talked with others (but quite a lot to himself, if he was being honest). But even he had heard all the talks about Koschei. Maybe it was, because his schoolmates were as fascinated as he was, maybe it was something else, but he could never quite escape this gossip.   
  
_‘He’s rich, but a loner,_ ’ they had said.   
  
_‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen him talk to anyone voluntary,_ ’ he’s been told.   
  
‘ _He never even **smiles** ,_’ he had heard.  
  
And here he stood, clearly about to humiliate him – And smiled.  
  
For a second, Theta was stunned. Stunned, because this quiet, clever boy knew his name. Stunned, because he had just thrown him to the sharks with absolutely no sign of remorse. Stunned, because he smiled just for _him_ , and it looked absolutely… gorgeous.   
  
It took him a second to decide, he wanted to see that smile again.  
  
It took him two to realize he was in trouble.   
  
‘Oh. Eh. Yes. Right. If… If I could get one that’s still broken, I can demonstrate it.’  
  
He concentrated on his task and after a few seconds of trying hard to fade out the memory of Koschei’s smile and studying the hologram device, he actually managed to figure out the problem and demonstrate a solution to the class, while doing his best to be looking at everyone but Koschei.  
  
Theta wasn’t even angry, not really. He knew he could’ve payed a bit more attention during their project work. But he packed his things together nonetheless and turned his back to Koschei, looking straight to the front.  
  
When he heard Koschei chuckle from behind him, though, he couldn’t help the goose bumps running down his arms, praying he wouldn’t notice.   
  
‘Not bad.’  
  
It took all of Theta’s strength not to turn around immediately and he would’ve even made it, if it hadn’t been for one tiny, little thought.  
  
What, if he was smiling again?  
  
And as he turned around, he tried his best to look properly angry and throw a dark glance towards Koschei, but the second he saw the affectionate, impressed smile on the other’s face, it simply died away.  
  
‘Not bad?’ he finally brought out. ‘I was completely lost up there and thought my way out brilliantly, thank you very much.’  
  
To his surprise, Koschei laughed. He had never heard him laughing before and it was both, the sweetest and the most infuriating sound he had ever heard.   
‘Are you always like this?’ Theta suddenly wanted to know and in his curiosity, he almost forgot to be shy.  
  
Koschei raised an eyebrow. ‘Like what?’  
  
Helpless, Theta threw his arms into the air. ‘I don’t know. Mean. Arrogant.’ _Utterly, confusingly, wonderful_. ‘Distant.’  
  
‘Mean, yes. Arrogant? Absolutely. And with right, by the way. Distant? I suppose so.’ Koschei frowned. ‘Why?’  
  
‘What do you mean, why?’ Theta couldn’t help but laugh.   
  
‘Does it matter?’  
  
‘No,’ he spluttered. ‘It’s just… People are talking, you see. And they say… things.’  
  
‘Things,’ Koschei replied mockingly. ‘Well, that _is_ news.’  
  
He sighed when he looked into Theta’s face.   
  
‘Well then, enlighten me, what do they say?’  
  
‘They say, you only ever work. You wouldn’t even notice other people.’  
  
With a light smile, Koschei shifted his head a bit. ‘But I noticed you, didn’t I?’  
  
Theta shrugged. ‘I don’t think you had another choice.’  
  
‘I didn’t,’ Koschei pointed out with a smirk. ‘And isn’t that special?’  
  
For a minute, they just stared at each other. Their teacher ended the lesson, their school mates one by one left the classroom and all that was left, was the two of them, staring at each other.  
  
‘So,’ Koschei finally asked. ‘Do you think it’s true, what they say? The… ‘ He paused with an amused smile. ‘Things?’  
  
Theta thought about it for a while, then decided – Screw it. He liked this weird, quiet, mean, arrogant, wonderful boy.   
  
‘Well, you’re funny,’ he finally stated. ‘And right now, you’re looking at me, not at your work, so there’s gotta be something wrong with what they said.’  
  
Koschei smiled.   
  
‘Or you’re just extremely pleasing to look at,’ he offered, but Theta just shook his head.   
  
‘Also, you’re smiling.’  
  
‘Smiling?’  
  
‘Yeah. They all said you’d never smile. And I kept on watching you and it’s true, you know?’  
  
‘Only supports my thesis, then,’ Koschei grinned.   
  
‘You should do it more often.’ Theta had spoken before he could stop himself, before he could even think.  
  
The other boy only raised one eyebrow in silence.   
  
‘It… it makes you look pretty. And a bit younger. And… less distant. And a little bit reckless.’  
  
Koschei got up with an amused shake of his head.   
  
‘Sounds like you should stick around then, doesn’t it?’  
  
Theta just raised an eyebrow and got up himself.  
  
‘Gallifrey bores me,’ he finally explained, his back to Theta. ‘This school bores me. People bore me. Theory bores me. It all is predictable and tiny, running in the same circles, again and again.’ He turned around, a bright smile on his face. ‘You don’t bore me.’  
  
Theta supposed this was the closest to a compliment he would ever get with this boy. He would take it.   
  
‘So what you’re saying is… We should hang out more?’  
  
Koschei laughed, then offered him his arm.   
  
‘I suppose it is, Theta Sigma.’  
  
And while they went arm in arm down the corridor, in perfect harmony, Theta got a sinking feeling he just had to express.   
  
‘You’ve noticed me before, haven’t you?’  
  
And all Koschei did, was smile.  



End file.
